Version 2.8 of the Skype Online Status plugin for WordPress brings a few important new feaures:
- new shortcode / quicktag
- new skypeCheck.js script with Windows7 / IE8 compatibility
- load skypeCheck.js script only when needed
- new POT translation file
- Live Support for contributors
New shortcode in posts and pages
From now on, there is a new shortcode [skype-status] and it can handle options like skype_id to override default settings. Just like the theme template tag function get_skype_status() and the sidebar widget, the new shortcode can handle certain parameters. The Skype quicktag button that is added to the RTE (rich text editor) guides you through the process of setting the parameters but if you do not use the RTE for editing post/page content, use the syntax [skype-status parameter1="something" parameter2="something_else"] to pass them.
The available parameters are:
- skype_id – Alternative Skype ID.
- user_name – Define the full Skype user or screen name.
- button_theme – Define the theme template file to use for the button. Value must match a filename (without extension) from the /plugins/skype-online-status/templates/ directory or the predefined theme template will be used.
- use_voicemail – Set to ‘on’ if you want to display the ‘Leave a voicemail’ link in the Dropdown themes. Use this only if you have a SkypeIn number or Skype Voicemail . Set of ‘off’ if you have a predefined setting ‘on’ and you want to override it.
- button_function – Define the button’s function. Value must match a valid Skype function like ‘call’, ‘add’, ‘chat’, ‘userinfo’, ‘voicemail’ or ‘sendfile’.
- use_getskype – Set to ‘on’ if you want to display the Get Skype link. Set to ‘off’ to remove the link.
For backward compatibility, the old shortcode <!–skype status–> still works and results (just like the simple [skype-status] shortcode) in a Skype button as configured on the Settings > Skype Status admin page.
New skypeCheck script by Skype included only when necessary
The latest version of the skypeCheck.js by Skype is included in this release. It is designed to create compatibility with Windows7 and IE8 and that seems to work. Unfortunately, there is still no Linux compatibility.
And the official version of the new script creates a small 5 x 5 pixel size box containing an SWF with a white background that is clearly visible on websites with a dark background. The SWF is needed for Skype detection.
I have added a small script to hide this annoying white dot from view while still allowing the SWF inside it to run.
Since 2.8, to improve page load times and reduce server requests, the plugin loads this script ONLY when there is a Skype button on the page.
New POT translation file available
The old skype-online-status.pot file included in the package had gotten a little out of date. There is a new version available in the SVN. Download it (or open it, then Save as…) from http://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/skype-online-status/trunk/languages/skype-online-status.pot
Read instructions on translating the plugin on http://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/skype-online-status/trunk/languages/language-support.txt
Contributors get Live Skype Support
Well, do I need to say more? Ow… how to become a contributor? Easy! Just donate or send me a translation or other useful code/bugfixes 🙂
